And here's Emmy gathering all the supplies needed to make "aes an toes". Translation: Eggs and Toast.

Looks complicated! So much oil! So much balsamic!

Nothing too exciting here, just dying a light pink sweater navy. It came out great, but it's just so boring, too boring to blog about. I did however stab my finger with thread snips whilst removing the buttons from said pink sweater. THAT was exciting, tell you what.

The shameful state of my sewing room. I am swimming in fabric. I need to sew.

I think that's what I'll do this weekend - sew 'til I can't sew no more!

The reason I have these HUGE cuts of fabric is because when I started my Shop (currently closed due to curator's mental one-eighty), I was planning on selling the clothing that I designed and made. But I have decided, finally and definitively, that I will be designing and selling children's clothing sewing patterns instead.

And I am so, SO EXCITED.

Everything began to fall into place on this wonky path I've been on, and for me, things falling into place without too much effort is a sign that you're doing it right. So, forward I shall move.

1.07.2013

I want to say first - in case you're like me and prefer not to use glue if possible, and cringe at the prospect of hand-sewing - that this crown is made entirely on your sewing machine.

NO GLUING. NO HAND-SEWING.

HOORAY!

Emmy has a favorite book called Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?, and it sits firmly at the number two spot in our nightly rotation. It's such a cute book. The little girl in the story wears this crown of flowers wherever she goes, whatever she's doing - even if she's playing in the rain and mud. So I decided to make Emmy a crown, too! To wear while she's licking furniture or pretending not to eat the dog kibble. Haha, that's my princess. ;)

My goal with this project was total durability. I want her to be able to REALLY wear it all the time, if she so chooses! So it also had to be totally comfortable. I thought about using glue, but I don't like how it gets so hard and lumpy. Plus, I'm not the tidiest gluer. Plus my friend Beth has my glue gun right now #bethonblast. So that was out.

Then when I was fiddling around with store-bought headbands Emmy has, it dawned on me - sandwich the flowers in between two headbands. Then, an even better idea - make the whole shebang from scratch!

Want to make one, too!?

Emmy-Approved!

You will need:

- 36 inches of Fold-Over Elastic (FOE) (more info below)

- Faux Flowers (specifics below)

- Sewing Machine

- Thread to Match your FOE

A critical detail your flowers need to possess:

They need to taper out at the bottom of the stem. Most faux flowers that are on a vine like this will have that wider end - it's the part that sort of 'plugs' into the vine. Know what I mean?

This is crucial for your flowers to stay put within your crown.

First step: Have your helper pull off a bunch of flower sprigs, while you're readying your FOE!

So here is my 36ish inches of FOE - note it's folded in half. You can also use two 18ish inch pieces if that's what you have. Emmy has a pretty sizable melon, so in my opinion this measurement would fit ages 2 probably up to 5. For the little'ns (2 and younger) I would cut it maybe an inch smaller.

Or just wrap the FOE around the intendeds' head to get an estimate of length - and remember, this stuff stretches well, even after we sew it!

Line up several sprigs along the FOE to get a sense of how many you're going to need:

I ended up needing one more sprig than I initially laid out here.

Pin the ends of your FOE together, overlapping all 4 layers:

Zigzag stitch over your pin (we're livin' on the edge!), making sure to catch all layers:

Now you've essentially made a double-decker headband:

Now we're going to make the first little slit for our first sprig.

Near the seam you just sewed, pinch one layer (the outer layer) of the FOE like so:

Snip a very tiny hole in the center of the FOE - there's a groove running down the middle of fold-over elastic - that's where your going to snip. And remember, this stuff stretches, so the hole needn't be as big as your stem:

Tiny snip!

Insert your first sprig into the hole you snipped, all the way until you reach a fork (or whatever other geographical feature your particular flowers have):

Now we're going to zigzag stitch over the part of the stem that's in between the two layers of FOE:

The key here is to lock in that wider part of the stem. Where it's wider, use a wider stitch, and as the stem narrows, make your stitches more narrow. This will ensure that the stem can't be pulled out:

My stitch widths varied from about 2.5 to 6mm at the widest point.

Tack down the stem at various spots, with various stitch widths, and also right up against the opening itself:

Now, lay your next sprig on top of the headband, in line with the first. Do you want the flowers more compact? More spread out? Up to you! Mark with a pin or with your keen eye where your next snip needs to be, and snip:

Try to keep the previous flowers out of the way when you're sewing the next ones in line:

Continue all the way around, until you are back to whence you started! I had seven sprigs in total, but this will depend entirely on your flowers and your spacing. Also, any bunchiness or weirdness will straighten out beautifully once on the wearer.

1.04.2013

Hope you had a good start to the new year this week. I sure did - I have been enjoying taking a little bit of extra care and time for myself... Just stealing little moments here and there to do nice things for myself that make me feel a little closer to my best. It's something I've needed to start doing, and I can attest - everyone benefits. Everyone. Benefits. :)

Started sewing a dress for myself - love it. More info is on my FB page.

I got second earring holes! I've been wanting to do this FO EVAH but there was always so many reasons not to - mainly - I felt selfish. But it was the most lovely mall-walking, ear-piercing, solo-time I've had in a long while. And guess what? Emmy was napping and Jonas just did whatever Jonas does for the hour or so that I was gone. THE EARTH DIDN'T END because I took a little me-time. Who knew.

Third and final self-love item of the week - a desperately needed haircut and color. Trust me when I say, no one tried to barricade the door when I left for this appointment. Lol. #badhair #nomore

We finally got a good blast of snow! It was of poor snowman-making quality, but beautiful nonetheless.

Play Doh.

Play Doh face-printing.

Hahaha.

If you want to follow me on Instagram (@SarahSarahBeth) there are many lol's that await you.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I hope to finish my me-dress and then figure out how to style it for pictures in a way that isn't R rated. The neckline - she gapes.